Review: "The Honkng" (Season 2, Episode 18)

Airdate: November 5th, 2000

Synopsis: Bender's recently deceased Uncle Vladimir grants him a haunted castle in his will. In order to obtain it, however, he has to stay there for a night. (Groundbreaking tactic, there.) The spirits of the castle haunt him, though, and he flees into the wilderness, where he comes across a Werecar that runs him over. After returning back to Earth, he begins acting funky. That, and tire tracks are popping out across New New York, in areas where he has been.

Review: Futurama mainly tends to utilize and riff on science fiction tropes, with the past two seasons largely being inspired by Star Trek. However, it doesn't limit itself solely to the sci-fi genre. In this episode, it mixes in elements of horror and the supernatural, and the end result is surprisingly good, if not as brilliant as the past three episodes.

Admittedly, though, much like the last episode, I'm going to be reviewing this more on the character interactions and the comedy - not a horror movie fan. (I do love Gravity Falls, although it's less "horror" and more "supernatural". Take that however you will.)

For the first time in a while, Futurama gives us an episode that is largely focused on Bender. A lot of people tend to think of him as this loudmouthed, misanthropic egomaniac. And, well, that is a fairly accurate description of him. However, and this is one of those things that makes Futurama such a great show, Bender has his own nuances, his quirks that make him three-dimensional. Those quirks get a front seat in this episode.

In spite of his brashness and obnoxious behavior towards his friends, this episode does cement one thing - he can't bring himself to seriously harm them (at least, without a reason). In fact, he feels immediate regret over the mere idea that he may have harmed somebody while he was a were-car. Bender might talk the talk of a psychopathic madman, but at worst, he's more of an everyday thief. That, and he does feel genuine terror over the idea that he might be possessed. Bender is a jokester and egocentric, but it seems like he acts the way he does more for comedy purposes and to stroke his own ego, not out of malice. OK, maybe anti-Human sentiment factors in, and that doesn't preclude him from egocentric tendancies he still hurts Fry at the end of the episode for a somewhat silly reason) but still.

Some could complain that this makes Bender a bit "wimpy". However, I argue that his behavior in this episode makes the character more relatable. In a way, this makes him the perfect response to TNG's Data - while episodes of TNG revolved around Data trying to be more like his human counterparts (a plot point that arguably became cliche), here, Bender is possibly more fallible and emotional than his human counterparts (which is saying a lot).

This episode also takes some time out to analyze his relationship with Fry. Through everything, Fry is hurt when he thinks that Bender might not consider him his best friend. Besides being a showcase of his immaturity (or at least his Id), this actually makes a lot of sense. Bender was the first person he really befriended in this time period (even if he met Leela first, they spent most of the first day playing cat-and-mouse). To find that their relationship might not be as idyllic as Fry might think it is, it probably hurt him.

Also, there might be feelings of jealousy involved. The last episode revealed that Fry is enamored with Leela. To see Bender chase down Leela, he might feel a bit jealous that Bender might feel closer to the captain he crushes on than he is. Fry does have the emotional capacity of a 13 year old - this is merely an extension of his immaturity.

Even secondary characters get a bit of backstory. Calculon, the hammy actor from All My Circuits, is revealed to have had a connection with the Were-car, having been attacked by the original during his tenure as a car-assembly robot. With the various names he mentioned living under, it's possible that Calculon changed his identity and skipped town to avoid scrutiny, or had too much guilt related to the attacks he committed. This goofy character, therefore, does get quite a bit of pathos... much like Bender.

I do have a few questions regarding this episode. For one, who was Uncle Vladimir? Sounds stupid, but it seems like he was just there to set up the were-car scene and make a few horror movie jokes. Maybe it's just me, but him having a connection with the Were-Car would have been mildly interesting. (Again, I don't watch horror movies, so forgive me if I'm endorsing a cliche.) Oh, and how did Uncle Vladimir die? If Calculon is almost a millennium old and is in robust health, what brought down Vladimir - a robot that was only 210 years old? It does raise some questions as to the durability of robots. We'll get some answers later on. (As for me, I'm assuming a terminal virus corrupted the bot, or Calculon stayed alive on backups.)

And why did they need to set the first and the third acts on a fictional planet? Again, maybe it was to establish the idea that the Were-Car is thought of as mere malarkey back on Earth, but it seems a bit pointless.

Maybe we don't need to know those details, given that Futurama is a comedy, but it would be interesting.

In the end, though, maybe I'm overthinking this episode, and should focus on the comedy. The comedy in this episode is actually pretty good, but it's not as outstanding as the previous three episodes were. Maybe, again, this is because I'm not a horror movie fan, so it personally didn't connect with me. Then again, I'm not a huge war movie buff, and I rolled during "War is the H-Word".

So, look for the character development, but beware the curse of "THE HONKING", lest you - uh, sorry, got a bit into my review for a second.

It's a good episode. Not my favorite, because, again, not a horror movie fan. And, overall, I didn't find that it stood out. Still a good episode, though. Watch it, I guess.

Tidbits:

• Love how one of the ghosts chasing Bender is the Windows logo. In hindsight, with the rise of Macs and the reforms to Windows... how poignant is that?
• I also love the reveal behind the ghosts - they were buried in "improperly-shielded coffins". Just a stupid question - when did WiFi first come into "vogue" for home use? Just a curiosity that I have.
• As far as Fry leaving the apartment he's living in the night Bender is welded to the wall? According to a deleted scene, he was going to listen to a homeless guy talk. Don't get why they deleted it, but still.
• And the creme of the crop, apparently, Bender's reputation preceeds him. "To my loving nephew Bender, assuming he's not responsible for my death..."

Favorite Scene: Much as I've never been a fan of old horror movies, I did like the scene at the castle, mainly for the animation and staging.

Least Favorite Scene: To be honest, I think they could've handled the conflict between Fry and Bender a bit better - maybe imply it a bit in the first act. It seemed a bit sudden.

Memorable Quote: This quote from Bender...

"I need professional help, and damn the expense!" (Cue him going to a Circus Fortune Machine, costs $.05.) "Damn the expense!"

Score: 7.5